Meet the Owners of C-Square

Back in 2009, the Centenary Square complex, including the Civic Centre was up for sale. At that time, John Sorrentino, his wife, Stefania, and friends Tracy Martin and her husband Rob Preslmaier, were looking for an investment opportunity. They considered Centenary Square, and decided that it was the one.

‘It appealed to us because Nambour is a central hub of the Sunshine Coast’, said John. ‘And because of the diversity of the tenant mix.’ ‘C-Square is such an interesting mix of retail, commerce, and entertainment’, said Tracy. ‘It’s not often you can find all that in one place!’

Initially Centenary Square hummed along as mainly an office and government services precinct. With the change in the presence of state and local government in Nambour more recently, the owners felt they needed to take it in a new direction. Working with local agents, Ray White Commercial, they started to develop a new vision.

None of the owners are from the Nambour area, so the initiative and vitality that they saw in the local community was a big attraction and inspiration. ‘We saw individual business owners doing some really cool things’, said Tracy. ‘And we wanted to be a part of that. Nambour is going through a wave of revitalisation, and we saw a chance to contribute to something unique.’

They have commenced that process by involving many people from the local community and, on the 3rd of July 2015, launched the new look as “C-Square, the new heart of Nambour” along with a celebration of 25 years since the original building was opened.

The owners of C-Square are also keen to see the building itself become more eco-efficient. ‘With any large piece of built environment, the best thing we can do is make it as efficient as possible’, said Rob. ‘This means making improvements in terms of energy efficiency, water usage minimisation, and recycling. All of these factors are in our minds as we make decisions about the building going forward.’ Other plans include adding timber decking and more gardens to make it a more pleasant place to be.

Tracy Martin and Rob Preslmaier

Tracy has a connection with regional towns, growing up in Port Pirie in South Australia. Both Tracy and Rob have been visiting the Sunshine Coast for the last 20 years, after Tracy’s parents retired to Tin Can Bay.

Tracy and Rob live in Brisbane, in the outer suburbs, where they have space for a native garden, some chickens, and lots of room for Maya the dog! They love to travel, in Australia and overseas.

Tracy’s working background is in human resource management, while Rob’s is in environmental management.

Tracy is mostly involved in activities related to communication at C-Square, while Rob’s main interest is in the building and environmental topics.

John and Stefania Sorrentino

John and Stefania live in Melbourne, with their two children, Lorenzo and Chiara, and Pixie the dog. While both of them have Italian heritage, Melbourne has been home for many years.

John has spent his working life as an engineer, and it was early on in his career that he and Rob met, and formed a long-lasting friendship. Not long after, John met and married Stefania, who was working as a travel consultant. John has a long-held interest in property, buying his first back in 1984.

John currently focuses on the commercial side of activities with C-Square, while Stefania’s main activities are in managing the bookkeeping and payroll.